


points in time

by WattStalf



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drabbles, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Naruto Couple Week, Tags to be added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-24 18:50:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13817286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: A series of drabbles for Naruto Couple Week on tumblr.





	1. Day 1: How They Met (LeeTen)

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am, back in Naruto hell. I'm a couple days late but I'm gonna get caught up. If I'd had notice I probably would have done full oneshots but here we are.  
> The theme for this one was "how they met" but I lowkey want it to also be the other theme "favorite canon pairing" so when is it gonna be cONFIRMED THAT THEY GOT MARRIED ALREADy

From the get-go, Tenten doesn’t know what to make of Rock Lee. They’re in the same class, but she has her own group of friends- other girls, though she doesn’t quite fit with them, and their infatuation with Neji Hyuuga, and her idolization of the famed Tsunade. Lee runs in an entirely different circle, which is to say that he doesn’t have a circle, and he keeps mostly to himself, though not entirely by choice.

He doesn’t have much going for him in any regard, but he continues to push himself, not dropping out like some of his harsher classmates insist that he should. And, in the end, he graduates with the rest of them, and, in the end, Tenten is the only girl to end up on a team with class heartthrob, Neji. Lee is also on their team, and they make for a strange combination from the beginning.

All the more strange is their instructor, who takes an immediate liking to Lee, while never making either of the other two feel left out, always giving attention to both of them, and their specialities. There’s friction between Lee and Neji, with their contrasting viewpoints, and for their first year as a team, Tenten finds herself trying to mediate and keep Lee from getting hurt too badly, every time he challenges Neji to spar.

He’s determined, but she has to wonder if he’s also just stupid.

She isn’t there to see Neji nearly kill Hinata, nor is she there to see Lee nearly die; she finds out later, about one teammate’s victory and the other’s crushing defeat, and then she  _ knows _ Lee must be stupid, to sacrifice everything like that, before he’s really had his chance to prove himself. While Neji trains fiercely for the next round, she tries to be there for Lee in whatever way she can, but there isn’t much she can do for him while he refuses to give up.

He’s an idiot, who never stops pushing himself, but in the end, it’s thanks to Tenten’s own idol that he’s able to eventually recover. A miracle, really, but even after he’s made her worry about him so much, she can’t be mad at him when she sees the way he throws himself back into his training, and the way he gives every mission all he’s got.

Neji changes in that time as well, and their team begins to feel more like a team. The three of them move forward, together, and nothing makes Tenten happier than being able to be a part of this.

However, there are times when Neji progresses a little bit further than the two of them, advancing to the rank of jonin with relative ease, and there are times when it is just Lee and Tenten, more and more often. Neji is still their teammate, and nothing will change that, but something does begin to change between the other two, or, rather, Tenten begins to notice the change, and wonders when it actually began.

She had her eyes on her goals when she was in the academy, unable to relate to her friends and their infatuation with Neji, but she’s come so far now, and she can’t help admire her other teammate, and how far he has come, after having the odds stacked against him. She’s come so far now that she thinks she can afford to think about romance for a bit, and how far she and Lee can go together.


	2. Day 2: Favorite Non-Canon Couple (NaruSaku)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP....

He doesn’t get it.

There are a lot of things he understands; Naruto is far more perceptive than one would think upon meeting him, and there are a lot of things he is able to understand, and a lot of people that he is able to reach, as a result. But that doesn’t change the fact that he can still be dense, and that he can still miss the point completely, and that he can take a long time to pick up on something if you don’t tell him directly.

Sakura knows all of this, but she still opts out of telling him directly, and decides to just see how things go. She’s known him for long enough to know exactly how he thinks, and to know that he will be the  _ last _ one to know, if she isn’t kind enough to tell him ahead of time, so she doesn’t. Call it cruelty, or call it nostalgia; she laughs when she remembers all the times he’s been clueless in the past, and she can’t help but laugh now.

They’re rarely apart nowadays, but it’s different than it was before, whether he picks up on that or not. She lets him pay for her meals where she wouldn’t before, and then turns out to pay for his, returning the favor because she can, because it’s fair, and of course, he asks her why they don’t just keep paying for themselves, if she’s going to keep paying him back anyway.

He just doesn’t  _ get _ it, and he doesn’t get why she laughs, and he doesn’t get why she’s always there, and why she always wants him there. It’ll take him time, she knows, and while their friends begin to understand, as realization dawns on a few choice people, and rumors begin to spread- because of course Ino can’t keep her mouth shut once Sakura confirms it- it isn’t long before it seems like everyone knows.

Everyone but Naruto, that is.

But she knows that, in time, he’ll have to understand, whether she tells him outright or not. It’d be easier to tell him now, and get it over with, but she doesn’t. She waits for the moment where it finally occurs to him that things have changed, when he  _ finally _ understands what it is that they’ve become.

That moment comes not long after the first time she kisses him, but even then, it takes him several moments to really put two and two together.


	3. Day 3: First Ship You Shipped (NaruIno)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been in NaruIno hell for over a decade now  
> The wedding dress thing came from a prompt list on tumblr cos I was drawing blanks on what to write for them at first

“I never imagined myself in a wedding dress.” The words escape her before she has a chance to think them through, and she wonders if she should regret saying them, particularly to her fiance. It’s not an insecurity she’s ever spoken about to anyone, least of all him, especially not now that she knows that that dream is coming true.

“Huh?” Naruto gives her a blank expression for a moment before glaring. “What’s that supposed to mean? Did you think I’d never ask or something?”

“It’s not  _ that _ ,” Ino replies. “It’s just...I don’t know. Before us. I mean, I never imagined myself marrying  _ you _ , even when I did think about getting married, so that’s another story altogether.”

“Yeah, well, I could say the same thing!” he protests, and then the two can only laugh. Of course they’re still bickering, even to this day. What would there relationship be without the bickering? “Come on, Ino, just tell me what you’re talking about!”

“I liked Sasuke before Sakura ever did-”

“Are you still on about that? You’ve got  _ me _ now, so you clearly got the better end of the deal!”

“Will you just shut up and let me finish?” she snaps. “I liked him a lot, when I was a kid, and wanted to be with him, but then Sakura did too, and I didn’t want to fight with her, so I kept it a secret...not too well, I guess, since she found out. She decided we were rivals, and I was a kid so of course I went along with it, and things escalated so we…”

“Ended up at each other’s throats all the time. I’ve got that part of the story down.”

“Well, that’s not how  _ I _ would have put it,” she mutters. “The point is, somewhere along the line, something changed. I never actually expected to win Sasuke over, even though I kept the rivalry going, but I kept it going so long that there really wasn’t anyone else. I guess I got used to playing a part, and I thought that’s what I’d always do.”

“Well, that’s stupid,” Naruto says, rather bluntly. “You’re amazing and talented, and you’re your own person, on top of that! Why would you have to be stuck being someone else’s rival forever?”

“I get that it’s stupid now! Jeez, I’m talking about the past, don’t you ever pay attention? Sakura and I are both different now, and all of that’s changed,” Ino says. “It’s just, for a while there...that’s how I felt. I was  _ trying _ to tell you how happy I am now, so why don’t you just smile and say thank you?!”

“If you’re expecting a thanks, doesn’t that just take the meaning out of it?”

“Why do I even bother trying to have a conversation with you anymore?” she groans, but she knows that she’s only teasing him. She knows that there’s no one else she’d be more comfortable talking about these sorts of things with, and she knows that that is why they’re going to be together, from here on out.


	4. Day 4: In Another World (ChoIno)

In another world, there might have been a chance for them, he thinks. He’s thought for a long time, ever since he first realized he was in love with Ino, and ever since he first realized he was in love with Ino, he also realized just how hopeless it was.

They’ve known each other since they were young, though they didn’t always like each other. She thought he was weird and he thought she was mean, and even though they knew that they would be forced to get along eventually, that didn’t mean either of them had to like it. Family history aside.

But being on a team together did something to their relationship. Relying on one another for survival, and watching one another grow, watching one another fall down and get back up, always coming back stronger, had an effect on how he saw her. Choji saw her grow and he saw her become strong, and somewhere along the line, he fell in love with her, and realized that he never had a chance.

It’s not that he doesn’t think he deserves her. That might have been the case in the past, but now, it isn’t about deserving. If he wasn’t good enough for her, he doubts she would have ever seen him as anything other than the weird, chubby, hopeless kid she got stuck on a team with. No, what makes a romance between the two of them impossible is just how close they are.

From birth, basically, they’ve been destined to carry on their clans’ respective legacies, and destined to work together to keep the relationship between their clans, and the Nara clan, steady. It’s ridiculous to think that an Akimichi and a Yamanaka could marry, when their relationship is meant to be something else.

And Ino knows exactly how she sees him, and if she didn’t fall in love with him precisely when he fell in love with her, he doubts it would ever be possible for her to fall in love with him. She knows how she sees him, and she has her mind made up about him already, so it isn’t likely that she could ever see him as anything more. They’re so close that there could never be anything more between the two of them.

Maybe in another world, they could have been born to different clans, and maybe in another world, they would have met under different circumstances, and grown closer in another way. In another world, he might have stood a chance with her, but in this world, he can only support her from the side, as her teammate and friend, and never anything more.


	5. Day 5: Older Generation Couple (OroJira)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mild sexual themes and alcohol here lmao

Jiraiya only warms up to him after he’s had a certain amount to drink, and even then, it is a slow process, and once he’s sobered up, it’s back to pretending like nothing ever happened- after a freak out that gets a little tamer every time it happens. He’s not ready for this yet, and quite possibly won’t ever be ready, but that’s alright. Orochimaru knows that his teammate is simply experimenting, and who is he to deny him that chance?

For all that he goes around, proclaiming his love for women and women alone, it’s only natural that there’s a part of him that isn’t entirely sure that that’s all that he wants, and it’s only natural that he begins to explore that curiosity with someone familiar to him, with a man that has more feminine features, and Orochimaru knows that he fits both of those descriptions. Really, it’s only natural that Jiraiya want to experiment with him in particular, so whenever the occasion arises, he allows it.

It starts with the two of them drinking together, with Orochimaru watching himself to avoid impairing his own judgment, while Jiraiya does everything he can to get completely out of his mind. The first few times, it may have been a simple accident, but after a while, it becomes apparent that he gets shitfaced specifically to excuse his behavior. He wants it, he’s just too afraid to admit that he does. That’s just fine; Orochimaru isn’t looking to get a relationship out of this.

It’s so obvious that this has become intentional, in the rehearsed way Jiraiya pretends to be shocked the morning after, the more they do this. He’ll put on the same act every time, vowing that they never speak of it again, but it grows forced and tired, because they both know that, even if they never speak of it again, it will happen again.

And so it does, again and again, and while he aids in Jiraiya’s little experiment, he has his own, and even as they grow apart, they still meet from time to time, with Jiraiya pretending as if he doesn’t have one purpose in mind. Eventually, he’s going to reach a conclusion, and determine that he might not be as exclusively attracted to women as he wants to claim.

Orochimaru almost regrets that he won’t be around for that discovery to happen.


	6. Day 6: Confession (KonoMoe)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always loved the kids lmao  
> Side Udon x Hanabi in here

The first time Moegi confesses her feelings to Konohamaru, they’re nine years old and he laughs it off and she slugs him. When he tells her that he doesn’t have time for gross things like that, she decides that she doesn’t want to be in love with him anyway, but she doesn’t stop hanging out with him and Udon.

A few years pass by, and they graduate the academy and are placed on the same team, and it’s then that she starts to think her crush on Konohamaru might not have faded after all. Though she tries to tell herself that all it is is simple admiration for the boy she’s known for years, after watching him grow into such an amazing ninja, but that can’t be all. After all, she’s just as close to Udon, and Udon becomes more amazing every day as well, and her feelings for him are completely different from her feelings for Konohamaru.

She remembers his rejection of her all too clearly, and even though she knows that a lot has changed since then, she decides to keep her feelings to herself a little longer.

They grow and they change, and the world changes around them, but her feelings for Konohamaru never do, and still she doesn’t give confessing her feelings to him a second shot. Years pass and people change, and the boy they idolized grows up and gets married and starts and a family, and Konohamaru stays close to him, and Moegi wonders if he ever thinks about having a family for himself.

He’s never shown any interest in anything like that, not that she could tell. Udon works up the nerve to confess his feelings to the younger Hyuuga daughter, and they begin seeing each other seriously, and Moegi hides her feelings for Konohamaru still, and wonders if it’s already too late. He rejected her when they were nine years old, and he could reject her again now, if only because it’s too late for them.

She could let it all pass her by, and she could keep holding onto her feelings, but she doesn’t know why she should. Things are different now, and they aren’t on a team together anymore, not now that he has his own team to lead, so what does she have to lose? His friendship, which she knows she’ll miss greatly, but can’t live forever not knowing if he would have rejected her again.

The second time Moegi confesses her love to Konohamaru, he laughs and tells her that he remembers the first time, and that he’s sorry for turning her down. He tells her that he’s loved her for about as long, but he was a kid, and things were different. She asks him then why he never said something, and he says he was afraid to; that’s something that they have in common, she supposes.

The second time Moegi confesses her feelings to Konohamaru, she finds out that he returns them.


	7. Day 7: Free Day (TemaTen)

“It’s too hot,” Tenten groans, fanning herself with her hand. Beside her, Temari laughs, a hand over her mouth.

“You’re the one who insisted on visiting  _ me _ this time,” she reminds her.

“Yeah, well, I forgot how stupidly hot it gets,” replies Tenten. “Seriously, how do you live like this?”

“I have my entire life,” Temari says, still amused by her girlfriend’s somewhat melodramatic response. “How do  _ you _ stand those frigid winters you get in your village?”

“I’d rather be too cold than too hot.”

“Personally, I think it’s a pretty nice day.”

“Temari, are you even  _ human _ ?” she asks, and Temari just laughs.

“If I recall correctly, while you were insisting on visiting me, you said it was because you needed a good vacation,” she goes on to say. “I thought you might enjoy the climate here, all things considered.”

“Somehow, I managed to forget it was actually utter hell.”

“If you’d like to find somewhere to cool off, all you have to do is ask.”

“Great, I’d love to,” Tenten says. “You wanna go sit in the shade or something?”

“I was actually thinking something a little more fun than that. I could take you swimming, you know.”

“You have pools in the desert?”

“You do know we have water, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, I just kind of thought...I don’t know.”

“It’s the modern age, anything is possible,” Temari says, giving Tenten a playful nudge. “Come on, let’s go swim together. That’ll keep you cool for a little while, at least, and maybe I can get you used to the heat here before your trip’s over.”

“I may be completely  _ melted _ by then,” Tenten mutters. “Oh, wait, I just remembered. I didn’t bring a bathing suit with me or anything. Do you think you have one that would fit me?”

“Trust me,” says Temari with a grin, “that won’t be a problem.”


End file.
